


Your [FINAL] Name

by Shirou_San



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series, 君の名は。| Kimi no Na wa. | Your Name.
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Other, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24308440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shirou_San/pseuds/Shirou_San
Summary: It's happily ever after time in this wonderful epilogue to the critically acclaimed fanfiction, Your [True] Name! We hope you like this light fluff piece about peace, hope and harmony as everyone enjoys their new perfect lives!
Relationships: Miyamizu Mitsuha/Tachibana Taki
Comments: 16
Kudos: 49





	1. Happily Ever After...

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of the story Your [True] Name! https://archiveofourown.org/works/12143643/chapters/27553212 read here if you want context for what's going on in this story.
> 
> ALSO I would recommend you stay away from this story if you don't want spoilers for Persona 5: The Royal.

The sound of ringing bells sounded throughout the air. A peaceful and serene glow came through the heavenly window and shone down onto the two people standing at the altar. One of them, a man with short brown hair, was dressed in a fine black suit. The woman next to him, with long black hair and a red braided chord tied in her hair, was dressed in a flowing white gown.

“Do you… take this woman, to be your lawfully wedded wife? Till death do you part?” the priest asked.

“I do,” the man replied.

“And do you… take this man, to be your lawfully wedded husband? Till death do you part?” the priest asked.

“I do,” the woman replied with a smile.

“Then by the power vested in me… I pronounce you both, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!” the priest announced happily as the two turned to each other. The man gently placed his hands upon the woman’s shoulders, leaned in… and kissed her upon the lips. An act she anticipated and accepted graciously. They were together now… forever.

The harmonious sound of the wedding march played as Taki Tachibana and Mitsuha Miyamizu, standing side by side, exited from the chapel together. Waving happily as their family and friends all stood around them at the entrance.

When we say ‘family and friends’ there were sadly not much to go on for the former. Taki’s father had come, but he was distant enough from his son that he knew he was more there out of obligation than anything else. Still, seeing him happily with someone sent his mind at ease. As for Mitsuha’s family… there was only Yotsuha. Her grandmother had passed on quietly some nights before the union. Mitsuha recalled the expression on her grandmother’s face after saying goodbye to her… she was glad to go. That was enough to give Mitsuha the strength to go on with this.

As for friends, there were obviously too many to count. On one side, Yosuke, Kanji, Chie, Yukiko, Teddie, Rise and Naoto applauded the blushing bride detective. On the other, Ryuji, Yusuke, Ann, Makoto, Futaba and Haru all applauded their charming accomplice. Ryuji was particularly happy, whistling loudly as the two stepped out and began waving at the small crowd.

A small sniffle could be heard from Makoto’s left as she turned to see water forming at the sides of Haru’s eyes.

“Haru?” Makoto asked gently as the fluffy girl shook her head and rubbed her eyes gently.

“It’s nothing Mako-chan,” Haru laughed as she composed herself. Obviously overwhelmed by the happy occasion. There was someone else there crying however.

“MITSU-CHAAAN!” Teddie shouted tearfully as Chie and Yukiko grabbed his shoulders, preventing the young blonde boy from rushing over and making a complete fool of himself.

“Settle down!” Chie scolded, “it’s fine!”

“But he-but he-” Teddie gasped out between labored breaths.

“Stop it!” Kanji retorted, his own eyes watering, “let the two have their happily ever after dammit!”

Mitsuha looked to their friends and then back to Taki. She smiled at him as Taki returned the smile in kind. The two looked out over the crowd, and Mitsuha threw the bouquet into the air!

Immediately all of the women looked up at the flying bouquet of flowers! Trying to predict where it would land!

“Jeeze that’s typical,” Yosuke sighed as he turned from the group and took a few steps away, “women always lookin’ for the chance to-”

As he shrugged out his shoulders and splayed his hands, the bouquet landed in his open arms, which he gingerly had to scramble to hold onto. After a brief pause and realizing he was now holding the bouquet of flowers in his hands. He slowly turned to the group, the girls were now all eyeing him dispassionately. Some looked scornful, others simply looked amused.

“Hehe...” Yosuke laughed nervously as he hid his face behind the flowers.

The joy of the occasion was indeed momentous! Although Yotsuha has little to be happy about really. She was glad her sister was more active now and that she and her husband were letting her stay with them. But part of her still found the entire situation bizarre.

“Hrmph,” Yotsuha pouted as she looked away from the two.

“Come on Yotsuha!” Nanako said as she stood next to her happily, “isn’t it romantic!”

“… I guess,” Yotsuha shrugged as Nanako continued to smile at her friend.

“Excuse us,” came the voice of someone from outside the group’s line of sight. The first to notice was Chie, who saw the telltale form of a beautiful red-headed woman come into view.

“Oh! It’s you!” Chie responded as the investigation team turned to acknowledge Mitsuru.

“Huh? Who exactly?” Ryuji asked as he turned to the woman himself. Soon the rest of the Phantom Thieves drew their attention toward them and the group collectively saw her.

“Mitsuru Kirijo,” Makoto said evenly, “chairman of the Kirijo group, yes?”

“My reputation precedes me,” Mitsuru nodded at Makoto, “I thought the occasion was auspicious! So I decided to invite myself and some comrades over.”

“Huh? Comrades?” Yusuke inquired as a group moved up behind Mitsuru.

A young man with short brown hair was accompanied by a dog who, despite getting on in years, walked with a spry energy that indicated its health and happiness. Next to him was an older man, with a sporty attire and a baseball cap on. Next to him was a man with short white hair and a composed but athletic build. Then there were three girls. A blonde haired girl who had a slightly off appearance that indicated something beyond human about her. A shy looking green haired girl who seemed eager to be there, and finally a girl with reddish hair and a small choker around her neck.

“OHHH! YUKARI TAKEBA!?” Futaba gasped.

“Uh- Futaba?” Makoto inquired before Futaba rushed up to her.

“Oh? Do I have a fan?” Yukari asked with a smile.

“D-DO YOU REMEMBER IN EPISODE 45!? WHEN PINK ARGUS WAS FIGHTING THE BLACK LANCER!? AND SHE MANAGED TO USE THE INFINITE FALLING STAR ATTACK!? What was that like!?” Futaba inquired.

“Uhhh… I’m sorry. That was a long time ago,” Yukari admitted sheepishly, “and I’m pretty sure it was my stunt double doing a lot of those takes. I mostly do dramas now.”

“Oh,” was all Futaba said in a dejected tone.

“Ehh enough of that nonsense!” Junpei Iori said as he shook his head, “what I wanna hear is… you guys REALLY the Phantom Thieves?”

“Heck yea!” Ryuji said with a confident smirk.

“Whoa! Seriously? Man didn’t think I’d get to meet celebrity vigilantes in my life!” Junpei laughed.

“Ryuji stop!” Makoto scolded.

“The girl’s right,” Akihiko Sanada said with a nod, “we’re just here for a celebration. Nothing more.”

“Master! It’s good to see you again!” Chie said with a formal bow in Akihiko’s direction.

“Ah. Satonaka-san? I assume you’re keeping up you’re training,” Akihiko responded.

“So wait-” Ann quipped in, “you’re all Persona users too?”

“That’s right!” the younger boy, Ken Amada said, “Mitsuru-san told us about what happened. And we decided to come visit! Isn’t that right, Koromaru?”

“RUFF!” the dog barked out in a small yip.

“Awww what a cute dog! Who does he belong to?” Haru inquired.

“Officially? Nobody. He’s a member of the team,” Akihiko explained.

“A member of the team!?” Makoto repeated, “you mean… the dog-”

“Has a persona. Yes,” Akihiko responded.

“F-For real!? And he’s just a normal dog, right?” Ryuji asked.

“Indeed,” Mitsuru nodded with a smile.

“Huh. Learn something new about the world every day,” Futaba smiled.

“OH! Hey!” Mitsuha greeted as she saw the newly arrived group, “what’re you guys doing here!?”

“We’re sorry Miyamizu-san for missing the event,” Mitsuru said, “one of us had a delay with their flight.”

“I told them to go on without me,” Fuuka Yamagishi said sheepishly, “but they refused to exclude me from this. It’s nice to finally meet all of you!”

“Oh! And you’re the uh… robot?” Taki asked as he looked to Aigis.

Aigis paused as she looked up at Taki.

“Indeed,” Aigis nodded.

“Whoa!? A ROBOT!? IS SHE ALSO A PERSONA USER!?” Futaba gasped.

“I-” Aigis began but was interrupted.

“HEY! MAKE THAT TWO!” another girl ran up into the group, this one also had a unique and bizarre air about her, but instead of the short blonde hair of Aigis she had long blue hair.

“Don’t tell me ya’ll forgot about little ol’ me!” Labrys shouted. The first thing that caught those unacquainted with her off-guard was her thick kansai accent.

“Labby-chan!” Teddie greeted.

“Labrys! Nice to see you!” Yosuke responded as he raised his hand to wave, only realizing he was still holding the bouquet which he then immediately threw down and tried to see who he could pass it off to quickly.

“Hello sister,” Aigis said, “I thought you were too busy to come?”

“Whaddya talkin’ about ‘too busy to come’!? I just said I might be a few minutes late’s all. Oh shoot don’t tell me the wedding’s already ova’!?” Labrys looked to Taki and Mitsuha.

“’Fraid so!” Yosuke said.

“Two artificial beings with personas? Remarkable,” Yusuke said as he immediately began to frame Labrys and Aigis with the thumb and index finger of both hands.

“HEEEY who’re you lookin’ at!?” Labrys shouted over to Yusuke who merely stared at the two some more.

As the conversation heated between the groups, Mitsuha immediately noticed something about Aigis. The robot-girl was normally quiet and standoffish. But now she seemed… eerily detached from the situation. As though an anxiety held over her head.

“Aigis?” Mitsuha asked as she walked up to her.

“It is nothing, Miyamizu-san,” Aigis said, “I am merely feeling… a strange sense of discontent.”

“I don’t-” Mitsuha began but Taki had already put a reassuring hand onto her shoulder.

“Don’t be stressed. This is a happy day for us, right?” Taki said with a smile. A smile that Mitsuha was more than happy to return.

“Yes. Let’s go celebrate!” Mitsuha nodded.

Soon the blushing bride and her groom were standing in the middle of a pristine park! A photographer was taking pictures of the two of them. Standing side by side, in a variety of happy poses. All around the park, the three groups were talking to one another about a variety of things. Rise with Ann, Fuuka with Futaba, Yusuke with Labrys (who was not at all being cooperative with him).

And off to the side stood Ren Amamiya. Poised and collected. Observing the situation with a contemplative stare… until he felt the presence behind him.

“You know it was risky for you to come here,” Yu said as he approached the boy from behind, “you’re still a wanted man by some people.”

“It’s women who want me detective… and some men, of which I take it you count yourself as one?” Ren responded with a coy smirk as Yu simply shook his head.

“Yes… and no. We both know why we’re here,” Yu said as he looked up at Mitsuha. The girl was currently being hefted up by Taki and carried like the bride she currently was.

“Let’s be here for them,” Yu said as Ren nodded in agreement.

The two folded their arms and watched as their respective teams and friends all muddled about with each other. Laughing and enjoying their lives with nary a care in the world! They had won! Defeated Erebus! Overcame all with the power of love! Truly this was a happy occasion for all of them to celebrate!

“… does something feel off to you?” Ren asked seemingly out of nowhere.

“… you know now that you mention it-” Yu started before he was interrupted by his dear cousin.

“Big bro!” Nanako greeted, “you came!”

“I did!” Yu smiled as he looked down at her.

“Aren’t Taki and Mitsuha a cute couple? They’re a real Phantom Thief and Detective!” Nanako said.

“Yes! They’re quite the pair!” Yu laughed as Ren merely shifted his shoulders and looked down at the adorable middle-school girl.

“Oh! Do you know where Dojima-san is?” Yu asked as Nanako paused and looked around.

“Uhm… OH! He’s right there!” Nanako pointed and began to run down a part of the park toward the well dressed and admirable looking Ryotaro Dojima.

Yu began to follow, but slowed once he saw a woman move up to Dojima’s side. She was a charming and compassionate looking woman with long brown hair and pure looking eyes… funny she kind of reminded Yu of Nanako.

“Hey there!” Dojima greeted as he looked at Yu and Nanako, “how’s the after party?”

“It’s wonderful! Dad you should’ve seen it! Mitsuha was so beautiful as a bride!” Nanako said energetically.

“I’m sure she was!” the woman next to Dojima said.

“H-hello,” Yu interrupted as he approached the family, “Uncle uh… who...”

Yu looked to the woman for a split second and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Huh? Yu-kun is something wrong?” the woman asked. The familiarity in her tone and address knocked Yu off kilter for a split second. Who was this woman who was so casual with him? And standing next to his uncle as if-

“Yu come on!” Dojima laughed, “don’t tell me you forgot you aunt Chisato!”

Yu froze. He stared at her. Long and hard. He had seen pictures… images… they were old and faded but now with a few years added on it had clicked… yes the person he was looking at was Chisato Dojima. Ryotaro’s wife and Nanako’s mother.

“Mom! Do you think we can stay in Tokyo for a few more days with Yotsuha!?” Nanako asked.

“We really should be getting back home, dear,” Chisato laughed, “you can visit Yotsuha again!”

“Awww… okay,” Nanako sighed.

“How about before we leave you and Yotsuha can go get crepes, alright?” Dojima asked with a laugh.

As the pleasant conversation continued on, Yu merely stood in dumbstruck confusion at what was happening. What he was hearing and seeing was… impossible. Was this a dream? A hallucination? What on earth was going on!?

“Yu-kun?” Chisato asked as Yu blinked and looked at her, nervously his mouth twitched.

“Y-yes?” Yu asked as Chisato adjusted her skirt in a concerned manner.

“Is everything alright dear? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Chisato commented.

“… I-” Yu began but was interrupted by Nanako looking at him with an equally concerned expression.

“Big Bro?” Nanako asked.

“… nothing,” Yu finally shook his head and composed himself, “nothing’s wrong at all. You all go have fun!”

Ren saw the interaction Yu was having and decided to look away. It seemed as though something was unnerving Narukami-san but what that could be he could only speculate. But it was a sensation he was soon to feel as he turned to look out at his comrades and fellow persona users. He realized what was bothering him this whole time… where was Morgana?

“Yo!” a voice came from his left, Ren turned to regard the youthful and handsome young man who was now approaching him with a calm expression.

“Oh. Hello?” Ren said to the strange man, “do I know you?”

“What? Are you kidding around or something?” the handsome man asked with a light laugh. Ren didn’t find it all that amusing, but didn’t interrupt as the boy continued.

“Still though. It was a pretty nice wedding right? I wonder what Lady Ann would look like in a wedding dress,” the boy mused. That set Ren off. There was only one person who would refer to Ann like that-

“Morgana!?” Ren gasped.

“Took ya long enough. Don’t tell me you forgot all about me!” Morgana responded in his human voice. Ren simply continued to stare out. This was impossible, wasn’t it? Morgana was… still a cat, right? No- no he didn’t want to be a cat. He wanted to be a human, right? So why was he suddenly so nonchalant about being one!? Did that bear thing teach him how to do this!?

“Morgana… how did you-” Ren started before he was interrupted by the calling voice of Sojiro.

“Hey! There you are!” Sojiro greeted as he walked up to the two talking boys, “sorry about missing the wedding. But I figured I wasn’t much of a guest.”

“N-no it’s fine,” Ren shook his head as a black haired woman came up next to Sojiro.

“Mona-chan,” the black haired woman said, “are you getting up to anything?”

“N-no ma’m! I swear!” the human Morgana said bashfully.

Ren paused as he looked at the woman for a brief second… he had seen her somewhere before, right? She was…

“The Sphinx Lady?” Ren muttered as he looked to the black haired woman.

“Huh? Is that some kind of joke?” the black haired woman asked.

“Don’t try to pull anything on her. She’ll just turn it back around on you,” Sojiro laughed.

“Hey! Mom!” Futaba shouted as she ran up to the black haired woman, “I wanna show some of the other’s this movie in town! REQUESTING ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT FUNDS!”

“Ohh? Didn’t I just give you funding for a new tower just a week ago?” the black haired woman said, “requesting for funds has been denied. You can go play with your friends some other time.”

“Ugguhuhuh… I’ve been outvoted,” Futaba despaired.

“Don’t be so harsh on her Wakaba,” Sojiro laughed.

Ren paused as he looked around. Wakaba? As in… Wakaba Isshiki? But she was- she couldn’t be-

“Your form continues to improve Santonaka-san,” Akihiko said to Chie.

“Thank you master! I haven’t let up on my training!” Chie smiled.

“Always with the training...” a sigh came to the right of the two and Chie saw a man approach Akihiko. He was an older man, about Akihiko’s age with a scruffy appearance and shoulder length brown hair. He had a disgruntled expression on his face as he kept his hands firmly inside his pockets.

“Ah. I was hoping you got my message!” Akihiko smiled at the approaching man.

“Master? Who’s this?” Chie asked.

“Ah. You haven’t met? This is my old friend,” Akihiko introduced.

“I’m Shinjiro Aragaki… pleased to meet you,” Shinji said evenly as he looked to Chie with a continued disgruntled expression.

“Woa! An old friend of Master’s? Are you two blood brothers or something!?” Chie asked.

“Something like that,” Akihiko laughed.

“OH! Shinjiro-san!?” a voice came as both Ken and Koromaru were quick to bounce over to the returning man. Koromaru was immediately up on Shinjiro’s knees, barking happily up at the man.

“Hey there! Koro-san,” Shinjiro said with a twinge of happiness in his otherwise muted voice as he pet the dog, “and Ken too huh? You’ve grown a lot.”

“I’m just glad to see you again!” Ken laughed, “it’s felt like forever since we last met!”

“Master! Does your blood brother know of any special form that could help me!?” Chie asked as Akihiko shook his head at Chie.

“Don’t go getting ahead of yourself, Shinjiro and I operate differently. The only reason he’s here is cause I told him we’d all be here… that and it was a wedding,” Akihiko continued.

“Speaking of-” Shinjiro said, “that the bride and groom over there?”

“Yep! As for how they met… uh… honestly even I don’t really understand it,” Chie admitted.

“Oh come on. Boy meets girl? Can’t be that complicated,” Shinjiro said as he continued to pet Koromaru.

“There’s time travel involved?” Chie said.

“Oookay,” Shinjiro responded without hesitation, “take it back.”

The group laughed for a brief moment as Aigis stood off to the side. She observed the group laughing with wide eyes… she seemed quite confused. Quite terrified even.

“This is… impossible,” Aigis breathed out.

“Yosuke!” Yu shouted as he approached his brown haired companion, “Yosuke can I talk to you!?”

“Huh?” Yosuke turned to Yu, a cup of orange juice from the catering company in his hand, “sure! What’s up partner?”

“Yosuke I-” Yu began but was interrupted by a second voice.

“Hey Hana-chan!” a girl walked over to Yosuke then, a girl with wavy light hair and a soft complexion. Yu almost recognized her for a brief period before-

“What’s up Konishi-san?” Yosuke asked as Yu froze in place.

“This wedding with all your friends is nice and all. But I think we should be getting back to the new Tokyo Branch? You ARE the department head ya know,” Saki Konishi said.

“Jeeze. Never a dull moment for me huh,” Yosuke sighed as he shook his head and let Saki move off.

“So what did you wanna ask me, Yu?” Yosuke turned back to him.

“… Yosuke… that was Saki Konishi...” Yu said blankly.

“Huh? Yea? And?” Yosuke asked.

“… does that not bother you at all?” was all Yu could ask.

“Why would it bother me?” Yosuke asked.

“Ann! Ann there’s something I need to-” Ren began as he approached the blonde haired girl but stopped once he realized she was with someone.

“It’s super cool for you to come here Shiho!” Ann said.

“No! The pleasure’s all mine,” Shiho Suzui responded lightly, “I wouldn’t dare miss Tachibana-san’s wedding!”

“… Shiho,” Ren greeted, “glad for you to be here… uhm… hope your health is well.”

“My health is fine, Amamiya-san!” Shiho said lightly.

“Shiho had to come here late after her volleyball tour,” Ann said.

“It was amazing Ann!” Shiho laughed.

“Volleyball tour,” Ren said evenly, “you’re comfortable playing again?”

“Hrm? Why wouldn’t I be?” Shiho said.

“… I mean after… the incident-” Ren began.

“What incident?” Ann asked.

Ren paused. He stared at the two and looked between them. Shiho seemed a lot… brighter now by his estimate. A lot more happy. What was going on?

“I must say, your demeanor is quite hostile,” Yusuke said as Labrys held her fists up at the boy.

“Buddy you dunno the MEANING of the word ‘hostile’!” Labrys shouted.

“Calm down sister,” a voice came from the side as both Yusuke and Labrys saw another figure approach the two. Yusuke could tell almost immediately she was a robot like Labrys, only her hair was a lighter tone and her armor a darker shade.

“Oh! Nishi!” Labrys greeted with a smile, “didn’t realize you were gonna be here too!”

“Nishi?” Yusuke asked.

“My designation was 24. After me and my sister escaped, she deemed me an appropriate name,” the other robot girl explained.

“I see. What a sordid and strange life you lead,” Yusuke expressed.

“Hey buddy I don’t use a sword to fight!” Labrys corrected.

“Huh? I don’t follow,” Yusuke said.

“So tell me. You Phantom Thieves get a lot of press?” Junpei asked as the disgruntled Ryuji sighed.

“Ugh I wish. Ya know being a Phantom Thief has its pros and cons really. Pros? Ya get to be a cool hero? Cons? Can’t freakin’ tell anyone about it!” Ryuji sighed.

“Ugh I hear that man. No respect or love for us unsung heroes!” Junpei sighed.

The two paused as Junpei began to wave someone over. Soon the pair were met by a woman with long red hair and a bored, passive expression.

“Hey Chidori! Glad you could make it!” Junpei greeted at the girl who simply nodded.

“It was my decision to come here. I have not witnessed a wedding for quite some time,” Chidori responded in her typical cold, even voice.

“Whoa!? You two uh… know each other?” Ryuji asked.

“Yep! She’s my… main squeeze,” Junpei explained.

“What!? For real!? MAN THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Ryuji shouted as he looked at the girl.

“I do not understand the nature of this colloquialism, but I would ask you refrain from referring to me in a possessive manner,” Chidori instructed as Junpei simply looked down.

“Y-yes ma’m...” was all Junpei said.

“Hello? Yes father. I’m doing fine, thank you!” Makoto laughed as she held her phone to her ear.

“I’ll be spending the rest of the day with my friends. You and sis can have dinner alone tonight,” Makoto finished as she nodded once and proceeded to hang up.

“Hard to imagine the sister of the head Prosecutor being a criminal,” Naoto Shirogane commented as she walked up next to Makoto.

“Former head Prosecutor,” Makoto laughed, “she works now as a defense attorney. She’s actually starting her own law firm and will be taking on a case in the coming months.”

“Ah. I see. What case would that be, may I ask?” Naoto inquired.

“A poisoning. The defendant in question appears to be a somewhat shy boy… he wears a pink sweater his girlfriend knitted for him,” Makoto continued.

“Well I may look into it myself,” Naoto laughed.

“It would be wonderful to have the ace detective Naoto Shirogane on the case. The envy of all police detectives,” Makoto said wryly.

“So you are the heiress to Okumura foods?” Mitsuru asked as she stood across from Haru.

“Yes. Although currently my father and I have looked into starting a new chain, right here in Tokyo!” Haru expressed happily.

“I see. A new business venture. That can be risky… what do you intend to do with it?” Mitsuru asked.

“Our new cafe aims to be more environmentally friendly by providing quality food and coffee, locally sourced right in Japan!” Haru explained.

“Hrm. Without proper channels you will have to do some price hiking. Marketing it as a more upscale place might be enough to draw in ritzier customers,” Mitsuru responded.

“Oh. My intention was more to present it as a more cozy, traditional place. Similar to my grandfather’s old shop,” Haru said.

“Ah. A nostalgic place. You could attract older customers there. Ones with more disposable income,” Mitsuru commented.

“Haru?” a voice came as Haru turned to see her approaching father.

“Oh! Father!” Haru greeted happily as Kunikazu Okumura looked to Mitsuru.

“And you’re...” he started.

“Mitsuru Kirijo. I take it you’ve heard of me?” she asked evenly.

“Of course! I’m… surprised my daughter is already forming such powerful connections!” Kunikazu laughed.

“Father!” Haru scolded, “we’re just having conversation.”

“Ahaha. Your daughter may be a great company head yet,” Mitsuru smiled after a polite chuckle.

“Hey guys!” Mitsuha shouted as she waved over to all of her friends.

“The photographer wants to get us all in one big photo!” Taki shouted as he likewise waved them all over.

“Alright! Let’s all get together!” Ryuji responded giddily.

Soon everyone was moving in close. The bride and groom, Mitsuha and Taki at the front. Then to one side there were the entire investigation group. Yosuke, Kanji, Chie, Teddie, Yukiko, Rise, with Labrys and her sister at the end. To the right there was the Phantom Thieves. Ryuji, Yusuke, Ann, Makoto, Haru and the human Morgana at the other end. Between and off to the side there were the final group. Mitsuru, Akihiko, Ken, Koromaru, Junpei, Chidori, Shinjiro and Yukari. Finally, just to the side of Mitsuha and Taki were Ren, Yu and Aigis. The three continued to stare ahead with a blank and confused expression as the camera-man adjusted his lens.

“Say Cheese!” the camera-man shouted.

“CHEEESE!” everyone responded as a flash of light encompassed all of them.

* * *

Soon Aigis, Yu and Ren were standing together now. The groups breaking off to once more begin talking among themselves as the after party continued. It was Aigis who first responded, looking over to the confused Yu and Ren with a conflicted expression.

“Uhm-” Aigis started before she was interrupted once more by a voice.

“HEY COMEON! STOP!” it was a voice Yu recognized almost instantly.

The trio turned to see Akechi moving out of the trees in the park. Dragging a perturbed looking Tohru Adachi by the scruff of his jacket. Akechi breathed out a couple gasps as Adachi was finally brought into line next to him. The composed looking former Detective Prince finally corrected his posture and looked to the three of them.

“Something is wrong,” Akechi said.

“… Yea! I’m being drug around by a kid!” Adachi protested.

“… also I think that bitch I killed is alive again?” Adachi said after a moment of thought.

* * *

The five of them were soon back in Leblanc. Ren, Yu, Aigis, Akechi and Adachi were all standing at the bar now as the group huddled around together. They had excused themselves from the party rather suddenly but had assured everyone they’d be back soon.

“Okay… let’s go over what we know,” Yu said.

“The man… Shinjiro Aragaki… I saw him die with my own eyes,” Aigis said, “not just me though. Everyone witnessed his death. Yet he is alive? And everyone acts as though him living is of no concern?”

“That’s not all,” Yu said, “Chisato Dojima… my uncle’s wife and Nanako’s mother… she’s also alive now. But that’s not possible? She’s dead! My uncle spent his whole life dedicated to tracking who murdered her! And Nanako… she suffered so much at such a young age because of it.”

“Wakaba Isshiki is also alive,” Ren said, “and Futaba acts like her presence isn’t peculiar at all.”

“So you noticed the pattern?” Akechi said, “it’s not just that people who should be dead are once more walking among us. It’s that people’s problems and ambitions seem to be correcting themselves in a very simplistic manner.”

“Right. Shiho seems to be unphased by her high school life, despite what I know happened,” Ren pointed out.

“Or more accurately. What DIDN’T happen,” Akechi responded as he crossed his arms, “I checked already and confirmed… the death of Saki Konishi is not present in any news outlet or website archive.”

“Huh? But… I still remember killing that bitch with my two hands,” Adachi pointed out.

“Keep talking like that and you’ll regret it,” Yu warned the crass Adachi.

“Despite his tone, Adachi-san is correct. His memories of the events remain. But the events themselves simply have not transpired,” Akechi continued, “it is as though someone simply… erased those moments from history and left gaps.”

“So uh… what exactly is going on-” Adachi asked as the door to Leblanc suddenly opened.

“Sorry we’re closed,” Ren said to the person who entered. The group looked to the individual and all pointedly stared at them with a muted reaction. All except Aigis… whose eyes simply widened and whose mouth merely hung open gently as she immediately recognized who was standing there.

He was older certainly. But there was no denying his telltale blue hair, slouching posture, and bored expression all immediately gave away his true identity. His blue coat hung loosely over his body with a small stripe of red over his arm.

“Hey Fred. Hey Black Coat. Didn’t expect to see either of you again,” was all that Minato Arisato could say to the two of them… before his expression landed on the robot girl.

“… hey Aigis.”


	2. The Gentle Madman

A spoon clinked loudly against the glass as Yu Narukami brought the organization together. At the bar stood Ren, with Akechi sitting down. A phantom thief and a disgraced detective prince. Akechi sat in stoic silence as he observed the gathering, with Ren staying back and watching as cool and collected as he had ever been. Yu was next to Adachi, although their relationship was more akin to a parole officer and his convict. Finally, there was Aigis and the newly introduced Minato Arisato. It wasn’t that hard for Minato to state who he was and where he came from, the run-down that Mitsuru had given them prior to these events had done more than enough to contextualize who he was. If his knowledge and demeanor weren’t enough to indicate that Minato was the genuine article than Aigis’s reaction left nothing in doubt.

Aigis didn’t react much to Minato’s arrival however. She simply sat by him and watched him carefully, as he simply seemed to silently take in her observation. It was as if things had truly returned to how they were back then, with her silently watching over the boy who at one point contained the harbinger of the end.

“Alright,” Yu said with a slow pause as he nodded in agreement, “let’s all calm down now and try to figure this out.”

“Well… I’m alive for one thing,” Minato said in a bored tone.

“You’re not the only one,” Adachi said with a smirk, “hey since that Konishi bitch is alive now you think Yamano is alive too? That mean I’m off the hook?”

“I’m not even going to acknowledge that,” Yu said as he glared down at Adachi.

“More importantly. Arisato-san was it?” Akechi looked to Minato, “what is your recollection of events? Considering your… unusual state.”

“Well… I recall going to sleep on Aigis’s lap… then a lot of bullcrap… then I was standing in the middle of Shinjuku alive again,” Minato explained casually, his voice remaining as calm and sarcastic as always.

“A… lot of bullcrap?” Akechi repeated with a quirked eyebrow.

“When you’re the door to sealing Nyx you get a unique perspective on reality. There’s a reason I figured out what was going on with Erebus pretty quickly,” Minato said.

“So you simply regained your physical form out of nowhere?” Yu asked.

“Sorta,” Minato shrugged as he proceeded to pull out a smart phone from his jacket and pull up a folder of images within. The group watched as Minato began to flip through a series of photos the phone displayed. They were pictures of him, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Yukari, Ken, Fuuka and Aigis all hanging out and enjoying time together. Even Shinjiro and a few people Aigis recognized as acquaintances from Gekkogan were there. As the photos continued to pass by, Minato continued his discussion.

“I found all these pictures on my phone but I have no recollection of any of these things happening,” Minato said.

“Aigis-san,” Ren said as he looked to the blonde android girl, “do you recall any of these events?”

“… no,” Aigis said after a brief pause, “there is… no way I would forget any of these.”

The sad sentiment hung for a brief moment before Minato pulled his hand back and pocketed the phone once more.

“I ran into some of the others before coming here… Junpei. Akihiko. Mitsuru. Even Shinji. They all treated me being here like nothing was wrong. If I had to guess? They ‘remember’ these events better than either of us,” Minato explained.

“Nanako didn’t treat her mothers presence as unusual despite the fact she’s been gone from her life for years,” Yu noted with a nod, “if I had to guess she has ‘memories’ of her for the entire time.”

“The same is probably true of Wakaba Isshiki,” Akechi noted calmly.

“Okay so… not only are dead people back to life, but a buncha people have fake memories too?” Adachi asked.

“Calling them ‘fake’ memories is an oversimplification. More accurately, it’s as though the tragedies of the past have been undone,” Akechi mused.

“Then let us address the next conundrum,” Yu said as he clinked the spoon against his glass again, “why are we the only ones exempt from this?”

“I think the answer to that is more than self-evident,” Akechi said plainly.

“It is?” Adachi asked in a miffed tone, obviously not paying too much attention to the nuances of the situation.

“We’re all wild cards,” Ren stated after a long pause.

“Exactly,” Akechi smirked at Ren, “each of us has been granted abnormal power over our hearts by beings of great power.”

Akechi paused as he gestured to himself and then to Ren.

“For myself and Amamiya-san, it was Yaldabaoth,” Akechi stated.

“For me and Adachi it was Izanami,” Yu said with a nod.

“And for me it was Nyx,” Minato said with a nod as he looked to Aigis, “and you Aigis?”

“… I believe I was granted a similar power as yourself,” Aigis nodded at Minato, “at least the power to encounter and speak to Igor and Elizabeth.”

“Then that settles it,” Ren nodded, “the one thing we have in common. There’s nobody else, right?”

“I don’t believe so,” Yu said after a pause as he rubbed his chin.

* * *

“AAAHHH!! AHHH!!! AHHHH!!” Taro Namatame shouted as he threw his back up against the wall in a panic over what he was seeing.

Mayumi Yamano approached him from the kitchen with a perplexed expression. An apron over her body and in a fine dress.

“Taro-kun?” she asked with a confused stare.

“AHHH!!! AHHH!!! AHHHHH!” Namatame continued to shout, convinced he was staring at a ghostly presence.

“Taro-kun what’s wrong!?” Mayumi asked as she reached out to her husband’s shoulders, only for him to leap back and hit the floor with a terrified screech.

* * *

“Eh I’m sure we’re covered,” Adachi waved his hand dismissively.

“So the question remains,” Akechi said, “who or what did this. And why?”

“It couldn’t be Yaldabaoth… could it?” Ren paused as he rubbed his chin, “I mean I killed him?”

“This doesn’t seem like the God of Control’s modus operandi,” Akechi commented, “he wanted humanity blind and in service to him.”

“Izanami simply wanted humanity lost in their inner ambition,” Yu noted.

“And Nyx and Erebus… well they just wanted everyone to die,” Minato said.

“Could this be the result of a new entity?” Akechi asked.

“It’d have to be PRETTY new in order for this to happen so suddenly. Let’s search for clues,” Yu stated with a nod as he stood up and drew his gray trench coat over his shoulders.

“Ohhh wow let’s split up and look for clues huh. Real original there,” Minato commented.

“Do you have a better idea?” Yu asked the blue haired boy.

“Go to Odaiba,” Minato said.

“Okay who the hell made YOU High Counselor?” Adachi asked in a miffed tone.

“You mean Chancellor,” Akechi responded snarkily.

“Ohhh big man-” Adachi retorted as he glared daggers at Akechi.

“STOP IT! Both of you!” Yu shouted, “Arisato-san, why do you want us to go to Odaiba?”

“Cause I saw a huge palace thing coming out of the ground while I was wandering around town?” Minato said with a shrug.

There was a pause as the group stared at Minato. The only one not starring at him was Ren, whose mind seemed to wander off in another direction.

“Why the hell didn’t you mention that sooner!?” Adachi shouted.

“Was going to! But there was a lot to cover already and I didn’t want us to speed along without covering our bases,” Minato said as he stood up.

“Come on Aigis,” Minato said as he looked to the blonde robot girl. Aigis looked up and blinked for a second before nodding.

“Y-yes, let’s go,” Aigis nodded as she stood up from her seat and moved out.

“Pfeh. If it’s not one thing it’s another,” Akechi said as he looked to Ren.

“Are you ready, Amamiya-san? Or should we default to Code-names already?” Akechi asked as he turned to Ren. The black haired boy didn’t respond. His glasses seemed to gloss over with light refracting off of them. His position still and calm. He was breathing but just slightly.

“… Ren? What’s the matter?” Akechi asked as Ren seemed to return to the reality of the situation.

“Counselor?” Ren repeated, the word said by Adachi ringing in his mind.

* * *

* * *

* * *

“Hello students,” the tiny and hunched over bald form of Principal Kobayakawa said as he held the mic to his face. He stood atop the gymnasium stadium to the assembly of Shujin students. Each of them observing the principal callously and with as much respect as one could get from a group of high school students who had to hear hollow platitudes about a rapist teacher.

“Things have been… troubling, at Shujin Academy. As you are no doubt aware,” Kobayakawa said after a brief moment.

“There has been a lot of talk. A lot of anger. And a lot of news. But… I want you to know that we the faculty of Shujin care about our students,” Kobayakawa said.

Yea, Ren thought as he observed the portly man with a cold anger that merely simmered beneath his composed expression. That’s why you looked the other way when your star gym teacher was assaulting those students you care so much about. What a shallow performance this all was.

“And due to certain events… the school board has sought to bring in a specialist! One who is trained to assist kids your age in… issues. The health of our students, both physical and mental is our primary concern,” Kobayakwa stated as Ren raised an eyebrow.

He knew this entire song and dance was just to try and get the media off his back. If the school’s reputation became ‘the place where a star teacher admitted to sexual assault’ then that wasn’t good for his career. But who was this ‘specialist’ he was talking about?

No sooner did he say this then a fairly attractive young man walked on stage. He wore a white lab coat and had a pair of brown spectacles that framed his face well. A tiny amount of stubble covered his chin and his hair was a frizzy and curled mess that gave him a slightly flustered appearance. As though he were right now busily working on things and he had just put himself together in a matter of minutes.

“I’d like to introduce each of you to the school’s new Counselor, Takuto Maruki!” Kobayakaw introduced as he moved away from the microphone and let the attractive man take center stage.

“Thank you-” the man began but his next words, which may have been ‘Principal Kobayakawa’ were cut off by a drastic decrease in microphone audio.

“Uh-hold on-” the man continued as he tried to adjust the mic stand. Only for his head to lower down and let out a small bonk and reverb against the microphone.

“O-ow,” the man- Maruki was his name- said as he gripped the microphone and proceeded to raise it up to his face manually. The students all collectively laughed while a few of the girls giggled sheepishly at each other. There was no denying the man was at the very least fairly attractive.

“Hello!” Maruki greeted, “as you no doubt just heard. I’m Takuto Maruki. I’ll be your counselor this school year. I hope to get to know each of you!”

“Wow,” ‘Taki’ said as he observed the man and leaned over to Ren, “he’s kinda cute!”

“… yea,” Ren nodded as he observed Taki briefly. Unaware that it wasn’t exactly Taki who he was speaking to.

* * *

“So what do you think of Maruki-sensei?” ‘Taki’ asked as she approached Ann, Ryuji and Ren after the assembly in the school courtyard.

“What about him? Guy’s just a lapdog for Kobayakawa like Kamoshida was,” Ryuji said bitterly.

“I’m about done with teachers here honestly,” Ann said despondently.

‘Taki’ simply nodded and looked down. There was no doubt that what the REAL Taki told him was pretty dark. Mitsuha only got bits and pieces but if what she was gathering from them was true… man did that gym teacher guy really do that? She didn’t even want to think about it really.

“Excuse me?” the voice came and the group immediately perked up as Takuto Maruki approached the four of them.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything!” the handsome man said with a small smile as he waved the group down.

“My good day,” Ryuji said bitterly.

“I apologize for overhearing but… I wanna make my position clear to all of you right now,” Maruki said with a deathly serious tone, “your mental well being is my greatest concern. Whatever misgivings you may have about my being here… I’m not interested in giving up on any of you.”

The group simply stared at Maruki as he hung his head low for a second and adopted a concerned expression.

“I understand that you were all associated with Mister Kamoshida in some way, correct?” Maruki asked.

“Uhm-” Mitsuha began. Taki didn’t appear to have much of a connection to Kamoshida and she certainly didn’t.

“Yea what of it!?” Ryuji responded harshly.

“Listen. I’d like to offer my services to all of you. To try and work past what’s happened. I won’t force anything! You can come to my office whenever you’re comfortable and… we can just talk,” Maruki offered sheepishly.

“Talk about what?” Ann asked with a slightly accusatory tone.

“Oh- anything?” Maruki said with a shrug, “therapy isn’t some kind of magic ritual. A lot of the time it’s just getting out what needs to get out. If any of you are hurting in any way? I want to help...”

The man paused for a brief moment before staring at the group once more. Finally he opened up.

“There will be snacks?” he offered with a grin.

“… tell me about these ‘snacks’,” Ren said with a quirked eyebrow.

* * *

As Ren sat in Takuto Maruki’s office he gingerly bit into a stick of Pockey. The doctor sat across from him comfortably. His hands on his lap and a smile on his face.

“So… Kurusu-san? I hope you don’t mind me bringing up some… troubling topics. But it’s a bit pertinent to you I’m afraid,” Maruki said with a sigh.

“I’ve seen the reports about your criminal record. You are on probation, correct?” Maruki asked.

“That’s true,” Ren nodded in response as he took another bite of Pockey.

“Are you at all comfortable talking about the incident that lead you to that?” Maruki asked.

“Well Doc. Do you mind me turning the question around on you? What do you think of it?” Ren asked.

“Aha… well, to be frank, it’s a very serious offense you’re being accused of. But at the same time? You don’t strike me as the kid of person to just assault a random woman and picks a fight with someone,” Maruki said with a coy demeanor as he rubbed his chin.

“In fact by second-hand accounts… you stopped Sakamoto-kun from attacking Mister Kamoshida at one point, correct?” Maruki asked.

“Did Mishima tell you that?” Ren asked.

“It was one of the only things he did tell me. He was remarkable tight-lipped and evasive about things,” Maruki nodded.

“You know that’s a breaking of therapeutic ethics,” Ren pointed out as Maruki’s eyes widened.

“AH! UH- s-… so it is,” Maruki admitted sheepishly.

“Look I’ll cut to the point then. I don’t really trust your criminal record,” Maruki said to Ren.

“You don’t trust the police?” Ren asked.

“Kurusu-san I work in psychological studies. Me and my colleagues were some of the most well trained and well studied men in Japan. We’ve gone to some of the best universities money has to offer and some of us even studied abroad. Moreover we’re trained specifically to deal and interact with people. Our success rate with getting people to open up and be honest and clear with us? 60% on a good day,” Maruki explained.

“The police in this country have a 97% confession rate. Either they have a magical power I’m unaware of… or a confession is not always an admission of guilt,” Maruki said.

Ren smiled. He got the feeling he’d like this doctor.

“So tell me doc. What do you hope to do for me?” Ren asked.

“I want to fix people’s problems,” Maruki answered simply, “make it so nobody has to suffer again.”

“That’s a bit of a lofty goal,” Ren responded.

“Well… I never told myself this would be easy,” Maruki admitted.

* * *

Ren and Maruki continued to walk down the street together. The two eyed each other in a friendly manner as they continued to talk.

“So keep making friends?” Maruki asked.

“I am. I just befriended Okumura-san in fact,” Ren admitted.

“Ahhh. The heiress? I’m surprised she’d rub elbows with a commoner like you,” Maruki laughed.

“She’s not like that,” Ren shook his head, “in fact she’s rather amicable with me.”

“Ohhh?” Maruki said with a grin, “have you two hit it off?”

“Not exactly,” Ren chuckled, “but what about you doc? You got someone in your life?”

Maruki paused at Ren’s comment. His expression turned neutral as his gaze fell ahead.

“I did… once,” Maruki admitted.

“… I’m sorry,” Ren said as he read Maruki’s expression and tone.

“OH!” Maruki blinked as he looked back at Ren with a shocked expression, “it’s not what you think! I uh… I mean it sort of is?”

Maruki shook his head as he gave Ren an assuring smile.

“Her name was Rumi. We… met back in middle school. Your typical crush turned into fleeting romance. We were going to get married once I graduated from university,” Maruki explained.

Ren kept a watch on the now melancholic man. He looked downward with a slight smile on his scruffy face.

“Back then… as cheesy as it may sound? It felt like True Love was… real. Like it wasn’t just something in fairy tales and story books… but, the world has a way of being cruel you know,” Maruki admitted.

“… did she die?” Ren asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“NO! NO!” Maruki shook his head, “we just… had a falling out is all. There was an incident and… we thought it best to not see each other anymore.”

Ren simply nodded his head in response. Allowing Maruki to silently mull over his thoughts.

“After that I… began to tour Japan. Listening to people’s problems. Delving into my research. I went to places like Tatsumi Port Island, some rural communities… eventually I wound up back here in Tokyo,” Maruki said with a calm smile.

“And then you took the job at Shujin?” Ren asked.

“Yes. After I made some observations of the place anyway,” Maruki said with a smile as he looked to Ren.

“Did something about it draw you?” Ren asked in a curious tone this time. Noting Maruki pick up the pace as the two approached the train station.

“Just the student body. They intrigued me!” Maruki said with a smile.

* * *

Ren walked in on Maruki sitting at his desk. A newspaper clipping in his hand as he looked over it solemnly.

“Something bothering you, doc?” Ren asked as he came inside for another visit.

“OH! Kurusu-san?” Maruki said as he looked to the boy, “Come in! I wasn’t expecting you though.”

“I heard you were leaving soon,” Ren responded as he noted the various papers strewn about Maruki’s desk.

“I am. I’ve been doing some research on human cognition recently,” Maruki explained. That caught Ren’s attention.

“Cognition huh? Any particular reason?” Ren asked.

“… Kurusu-san,” Maruki began, “I’ll be honest. There’s a lot of suffering in this world. A lot of pain. A lot of sadness. A lot of anger and fighting. It doesn’t take a genius to see that.”

“That’s why you’re a councilor,” Ren said, “to help people get through that pain.”

“You’re right. But scars don’t heal Kurusu-san,” Maruki despaired as he shook his head, “even if you do all that you can to help someone work through it… pain lingers. Particularly emotional ones. Some people live their whole lives with trauma.”

Ren paused as he sat on a nearby chair. Maruki rubbed his chin and turned to the curious looking boy.

“The duty of a doctor is to make sure his patients are healed. To make it so the crippled can walk. The blind can see. The infirm strong and able. Yet my job is merely to make people able to function despite their trauma. I feel helpless at times,” Maruki explained solemnly.

“Doc I understand where you’re coming from. But it’s not like you can just erase people’s trauma entirely,” Ren responded.

“… hrm. If only it were that easy yes,” Maruki nodded, “but to answer your question? I’m reading up on cognition so that I can more effectively treat patients. A lot of the time the answer to tackling trauma is to get it out of your mind or forget about it. The more stimulus that exist to remind you or trigger you of traumatic events the worse off you’ll be. Cognitive psience… yes, with a p… it seems to focus on changing people’s perception of reality.”

“I’m aware of it,” Ren responded with a nod.

“Because of Futaba?” Maruki asked.

There was a pause. Ren stared at Maruki for a second before the man blinked.

“OH! I’m sorry! I uh… visited the cafe you call home! I thought it would be pertinent to meet with your guardian! There I met… Futaba and I realized she was Isshiki-san’s daughter!” Maruki explained hurriedly.

“Ah… well yes. I do know about it from Futaba,” Ren nodded.

“That’s good. That’s good,” Maruki smiled.

“Doc who else have you talked to? From my group of friends I mean,” Ren asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Most of them,” Maruki said as he adjusted his seat gently.

“I spoke to Sakamoto-san and Tamaki-san. They were affected pretty badly by Mister Kamoshida. Sakamoto-san just wanted to be with his track meet friends again… Tamaki-san just wished she could stay with Shiho Suzui.”

Maruki continued to speak as he stood up and moved over to the table near the middle of the nurse’s office.

“Nijim-san and Okumura-san spoke to me as well. Both lament the deaths of their fathers. Nijima wishes she could be closer to her sister as well. I spoke to Futaba, as you’re aware, and she explained how she wished she could be with her mother again. During the festival I spoke to Kitagawa-kun and he was lamenting how his old master Madarame mistreated him. He wished that his master could live up to his expectations again.”

As Ren observed the ranting councilor he saw Maruki take a couple snacks out from under the table. He gently opened up the packaging and offered some to Ren. The boy politely refused, raising his hand and shaking his head.

“And then finally… there’s your friend. Taki Tachibana,” Maruki said as he took a snack out and ate it himself.

“He’s weird,” Maruki said almost immediately after. All Ren could do was nod.

“When I first met him he came in here gushing and happy about being in Tokyo! I asked him about his relationship with his dad and he seemed bothered… but then the next time I saw him he was… different. Much more cold and standoffish. And when I asked him about his dad then he seemed much more accepting of him. Not gushing or anything but still...” Maruki continued as he ate his snack.

“He did tell me an interesting story though. Apparently Tachibana-san saved this girl running out into the street some years ago. Her twin sister thanked him,” Maruki explained. Ren sighed. Just like Taki to play the daring hero in all of this huh.

“It was like that for much of my interactions with Tachibana-san. Some days he’d be loud, happy and… somewhat effeminate. Other times he’d be more or less a typical highschool boy. Not all that different from Sakamoto-san,” Maruki continued.

“Then I met him just a week ago and… something felt wrong with him,” Maruki said as Ren blinked and nodded.

“Yea. I know what you mean Doc,” Ren said, “I dunno if he told you what happened exactly but… it was strange.”

“He said he took you all out into the country to go look for someone? Then he wandered off and you found him on top of a mountain by himself?” Maruki asked.

“Pretty much,” Ren admitted, “although it seemed like he was looking for a girl?”

“Hrm,” Maruki rubbed his chin, “either way… the poor boy is clearly suffering from some kind of cognitive impairment. He can barely remember parts of this year! Or so he claims.”

“About this whole Cognition thing Doc,” Ren said, “maybe you should be careful. Messing with people’s cognition sounds dangerous.”

“Hrm. I suppose it does. Though that doesn’t stop you and the other Phantom Thieves, does it?” Maruki asked.

The sheer casualness of his statement. The fact his tempo didn’t drop. The fact his tone did not change. The matter of fact way with which he said that… almost made Ren react. Thankfully, he maintained his composure.

“Hrm?” Ren raised an eyebrow.

“Oh! Sorry. You’re wondering how I know, right?” Maruki asked.

“Well… back when I was job-hunting I… noticed some teenagers just randomly appear in front of me from a strange red void. Right in the middle of an alleyway. It was you, Sakamoto-san and Takamaki-san correct?” Maruki asked as Ren merely continued to stare forward.

“Coincidentally. Soon after I saw that, Kamoshida came forward with his admission of guilt,” Maruki said, “quite a coincidence that was. Soon after I… began to put two and two together.”

“… bit of a leap in logic you’re making there Doc,” Ren responded tersely.

“I suppose! And whether or not you are a Phantom Thief doesn’t really matter,” Maruki said, “but still I am curious about this whole ‘changing hearts’ thing.”

“Doc I’d suggest leaving it there,” Ren said.

“Hrrmm… very well. But before I leave I do have one question for you, Amamiya-san,” Maruki said. Using his real name too huh. It appeared Ren had underestimated Doctor Maruki.

“And that is?” Ren asked.

“What is most troubling you in life?” was all Maruki asked.

* * *

* * *

* * *

There was 6 of them. Ren, Akechi, Yu, Adachi, Minato and Aigis. All of them standing at the base of what appeared to be a gigantic building that reached up into the sky. There was no doubt about it, another Metaverse app appeared on their phones once they got near the stadium at Odaiba. There was no name attached, and the group seemed to instantly get teleported to the base of the strange stadium once they activated it. Now all they could do was look up curiously at the expanding palace before them.

Ren looked down. He was currently in his Joker attire. He looked to Akechi and saw that he likewise was in his black mask outfit. His sword replaced with a curved blade that seemed new to Ren. Where Akechi got it? He didn’t know and he didn’t much feel like asking.

“Alright,” Ren said as he looked to the others, “since this is a palace technically. You should all get code names.”

“Codenames?” Adachi asked.

“It’s to make sure that our names do not effect the metaverse in any unwanted manner,” Akechi explained, “casually referring to ourselves by what people know us as, especially in here, could cause unwanted effects.”

“Plus they’re just cool to have,” Ren said.

“Can’t argue with that logic,” Minato shrugged.

“Why don’t we just keep where we were and you can call me Detective?” Yu offered.

“Well since we gotta do this apparently… how about Shadow? Or Jackboot?” Adachi offered.

“All in favor of Adachi’s codename being ‘Bastard’ say Aye,” Ren responded.

“Aye,” responded everyone except Adachi himself and the still quiet Aigis.

“Oh fuck off,” Adachi spat.

“I’ll be Brian,” Minato said. The group looked to him.

“Why Brian?” Yu asked.

“Cause I’m not the Messiah,” Minato responded.

Minato turned his attention to Aigis, who was still looking at him with an amazed expression.

“Aigis? Do you need a codename?” Minato asked.

There was a pause as the robot girl simply shook her head.

“Uhm… no. I mean I… my designation is not the same as my actual assigned title. Therefore I think Aigis will suffice as a codename,” Aigis responded with a nod.

“Alright then we’re good,” Minato nodded as the group all walked past him toward the elevator.

All except for Minato and Aigis herself. Once the group was out of earshot, Aigis immediately turned to Minato and looked down.

“M-Minato I don’t believe you’re-” Aigis started but the blue haired boy immediately held up his hand and shook it at her.

“Aigis. Listen to me. What’s happened is happened. Nothing can change that. Nothing SHOULD change that,” Minato said to her, “once we figure out what’s causing all of this… it’s best you move on again.”

Aigis paused as she looked down. An expression of sadness crossed her face as Minato walked past her toward the elevator.

* * *

“Welcome to the clinic! We hope you’ll be happy here!” the cognitive being greeted as Ren and the others immediately passed her and made their way to the entry lobby. Standing there were a plethora of people, lining up to participate in what appeared to be a perverse combination of a laboratory, a clinic and some kind of cult. The cognitive people all standing around, talking about how happy they were and how glad they could soon join this bright new world. Signs and television monitors displayed messages about embracing happiness and stepping away from sadness or misery. Cognitive people handed out pamphlets to more cognitive people, eventually Yu picked up one himself and began to comb it over.

“These… people… want to remove sadness?” Yu said.

“No. Not just remove. Erase tragedy,” Akechi said, “think back to what transpired. It is not just that dead people are back to life… it’s that prior traumatic events have disappeared as well.”

“Oookay this is kinda creepy,” Adachi said as he looked the people over, “so these are like… people trapped here or-”

“They’re cognitive beings,” Akechi said to Adachi, “they’re merely constructs of this palace ruler’s mind.”

“… sooo I can do this?” Adachi pulled out a gun and immediately shot one of the passing cognitive people in the head.

“ADACHI!” Yu shouted as he stomped up to the man and slapped his gun arm down.

“Whaaat? He just said these guys aren’t real!” Adachi responded.

“Still not a good idea to do that cause-” Minato began but he was a bit too late. Already several shadowy beings wearing lab-coats were upon the group.

“WHAT’RE YOU DOING!?” the shadows asked as their bodies began to contort and explode into the demonic forms underneath. A brightly colored bug like demon with bat wings and cloven feet, juxtaposing its yellow body and bright green and red face mask. A group of 6 immediately surrounded them.

“Cause of THAT,” Minato said as he immediately pulled out a western style sword.

“Oh come on that’s not my fault!” Adachi protested but was immediately grabbed and tossed into the ground again by an assailing demon.

Ren was the first to respond, drawing his knife and gun and immediately shooting into one of the attacking demons. The demon responded by swiftly flying at Ren, striking out at him with its flaying tendril arms.

“ARSENE!” Ren shouted as his persona immediately manifested and began to swing its bladed feet out, stabbing into the oncoming demon’s face mask brutally as it drove them off.

“IZANAGI!” Yu called down his own persona, who immediately began to swing wildly into the attacking shadow. The shadow took the brunt of Izanagi’s attack and responded with a billowing fire come forth from its body. Yu held his arms up to defend himself from the attack-

Which was summarily blocked by the mechanical persona that had moved out to interpose between the two.

“ORPHEUS!” called out Minato as his persona proceeded to grab its lyre and swing down onto the demon with a solid strike.

As Minato guarded Yu however, he didn’t realize that one of the demons had taken the opportunity to go lashing out at him. Minato turned to see the attack coming, and also to see the demon’s arm immediately get grabbed by Aigis. The robot girl was immediately upon the demon, lurching his body upward and firing into it with the guns attached to her fingers.

“COME!” Aigis shouted as Athena appeared and immediately threw its spear out into the several bullet holes she fired into the demon already.

“Okay tough guy-” Adachi said in a thoroughly pissed off tone as he began to stand up. Magetsu Izanagi appeared above him as the persona began to slash out at the demons still surrounding them. Cutting off the arm of the bug-like demon that had been holding him to the ground.

“COME! LOKI!” Akechi shouted as his striped persona appeared and immediately began firing off a riot-gun of bullets into the surrounding demons. Akechi laughed menacingly as each demon fell to the hail of gunfire, dissipating into black smoke as each attack landed squarely in their faces.

In a matter of minutes, the 6 Wild Cards had easily managed to dispatch each and every one of the shadows. As the last one fell however, the group paused as a sound came over the fading battle. The group paused as they all heard what they recognized as… clapping?

“Well, well, well,” a voice came. It was calm and smooth. Captivating and enticing. Intense but also composed. It was a voice none of them recognized… save for one of them.

“… I was afraid as much,” Ren said.

“What?” Yu turned to Ren with a curious expression as a figure moved out from the top of the stairs. The group saw a handsome man standing there. His face cleanly shaven and his hair combed back. His eyes narrowed and a pair of dark rimmed glasses aligned on his face.

“Good to see you again… Ren,” Takuto Maruki said. Dressed in a flashy white coat with white gloves. There was little doubt now about who this Palace’s ruler was.

“Hello… doc,” Ren greeted in response.

“I can only assume why you and your friends are here… but before we get to the main event…” the man said calmly as he looked the group over. Suddenly his expression changed, his eyes perked up and his smile became less sinister and more cheerful.

“Who wants some snacks? Anyone?” Maruki asked.

The group merely stared in confusion. Was this palace ruler… inviting them?

"... tell me about these 'snacks'," Minato said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEW! Sorry this is taking so long! As you're no doubt aware the world's kinda gone to shit and I've had some bad mental health cause of it! Hope to keep this up!


	3. **Intermission / Update**

Hello everyone! Some of you who are fans of this and the previous work might be a bit anxious right now. Is this story abandoned? Did I give up on it? Will there ever be a true resolution?

I need to explain some personal details first before I get into the nitty-gritty of it a bit more. First of all: 2020 was just an awful, awful year and my mental and physical health had... to put it mildly, taken a tremendous blow. I spent a good portion of 2020 being wholly uncertain of the future and living in near agonizing fear of goddamn near everything. So I wound up not only having to distance myself online from most people but also just in general do my best to survive the situation. Thankfully it feels like things have semi-stabilized in the past month or so that I feel more confident in getting back to my writing. I think I can maybe complete this story by the end of 2021 if all things go well... but there's still a big IF hanging over this story and that's Persona 5: Strikers.

P5:S to me looks like a continuation of Persona 5's story. It seems to be taking place after the events of 5 with the events of Royal being in a nebulous Schrodinger zone. So I am vaguely interested in using the characters of Zenkichi and Sophia in this story, even if their role isn't a major one. Problem is: I haven't played or completed P5:S and I don't plan to until the game is officially out in English. Which is thankfully THIS MONTH so yeah that should hopefully not take too long. I plan to maybe take some time off work to beat P5:S so that I can properly add its events to this story. So even in an ideal scenario this story is not going to get updated until sometime around mid-March. It might even be late March or Early April assuming another world-ending catastrophe doesn't occur. Once the ACTUAL CHAPTER 3 IS READY I might just edit this document here, but that might not alert people so I dunno right now.

I don't just want this particular story to be "Persona 5: The Royal Third Semester but with some extra characters" I sorta want THIS story to be more or less my love letter to the Persona franchise as a whole. This series means a lot to me and I'm hoping I can play some games/get some story beats down enough that I want this to feel like a culmination of things. I won't get much more into what I plan on including in this story than that but I will say I hope to factor in _**AS MANY PERSONA GAMES AND CHARACTERS AS I CAN JUSTIFY**_... so let that speak for itself.

With THAT said however I also need to clear my conscious about something and nip this in the bud before it becomes an issue. In regards to this story being a sequel/continuation of "Your [True] Name" well... it is. But it might not be everyone's cup of tea. Won't spoil anything obviously but if you want this story to end all sweet and happily like the first one? You might be somewhat disappointed. Again I won't say much more than that but temper your expectations accordingly. Royal's Third Semester was very much about how 'Perfect Endings' aren't all they're cracked up to be and this story might elaborate further on that. There's a reason I made this a separate story instead of just choosing to continue the original. Cause if you like the original for what it is (warts and all) then I don't wanna ruin it for anyone and wanna give people a cut-off point. If you like the happily ever after then great! It's all there for you. If you're down for something a bit more melancholic? Well this may be up your alley then.

I won't lie, another reason I took a lot longer on this one is that I was unsure exactly how I wanted to end it. The ending I had in mind was... sort of like the original movie but less emotionally climatic and thus I wasn't completely on board with it. But after playing a certain game over the past month or two... I think I know exactly how I want _**this**_ story to end. And it might give one last little shock/surprise to the people reading.

_**TOO LONG; DIDN'T READ?** _

The story's not abandoned yet. I'm gonna play Strikers before continuing it hopefully. Expect this to be a different story from the original. Hope for an update around Mid-March.

Thank you for sticking with this if you did.


End file.
